Pump of energy and volatile materials

ABSTRACT

A pump is provided which pumps energy via molecular carriers; the side effect of this method of energy transmittance is the concomitant movement of material. The method of energy and material movement follows three steps. In step one, energy is absorbed by the molecular carrier, transforming the carrier from a liquid or solid state into a gaseous state. The second step is the conveyance of the energized molecular carriers through an energy conduit, through which the molecular carriers may pass without losing energy, despite a potentially very long distance. The third step involves deposition of the energy at the final destination via a transfer which extracts the energy from the material, concomitantly transforming the material from a gaseous state to a liquid or solid state.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of transport of both energy and volatile materials over short or long distances. Note that many materials are volatile under some conditions which do not induce volatility in other materials. The current invention is capable of working in a variety of conditions (temperature, pressure, etc.) ensuring that while some of these conditions do not result in the capacity to pump specific materials, the pump can be used in other sets of conditions which do result in pumping capacity for the same materials (ex. metallic sodium may be pumped in the current invention at high temperatures).

SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART Citations:

4,038,972 Solar energy collection apparatus Orrison 4,143,644 Apparatus for producing useful heat from solar Heitland radiation 4,429,213 Electrically heated fluid conduit Mathieu 4,749,447 Evacuated evaporation-pressurized Lew condensation solar still 5,511,954 Water pumping system using solar energy Han 5,178,734 Water distilling apparatus with vertically Palmer stacked components 5,791,377 Electrically heated conduit LaRochelle 6,375,805 Apparatus and process for purifying a liquid Dableh 6,634,864 High fluid flow and pressure in a capillary Young pump for vaporization of liquid 6,804,962 Solar energy desalination system Prueitt 6,729,481 Heated conduit Wilds 6,797,124 Solar distillation unit Ludwig 7,090,001 Optimized multiple heat pipe blocks for Zhou electronics cooling

At present, there are no inventions that are capable of use as a simultaneous method of transfer of both energy and material or both over short and long distances that may be built without the need for special materials, do not require any moving parts, can achieve a very high energy efficiency (exceeding 40%), and may be built by virtually any Nation on Earth. This invention describes one such device. Prior art universally lacks the functionality, the utility, or the simplicity of the current invention.

Current pumping technology utilizes a myriad of different types of mechanical pumps to achieve movement of liquids over both small and large distances. The basic design of a mechanical water pump is several thousands of years old and generally includes a form of movement in the design. Among these designs are corkscrew pumps, piston pumps, diaphragm pumps, and rotary pumps. Most types of pumps somehow achieve motion of the liquid being pumped by some type of motion of the machine.

There are many problems with this type of pumping technology. The first is that the parts physically wear out, and must either be replaced or materials that do not wear must be used. Moreover, lubrication used to keep parts from wearing out can find its way into the substance that is being pumped. Finally, while the mechanical efficiency of mechanical pumps can be as high as 99%, the energy efficiency of mechanical pumps is typically much lower.

Our technology corrects these problems by eliminating the energy conversion required, utilizing a highly efficient method of generating movement. High energy efficiencies result from energy transfers occurring directly at the molecular level rather than through bulk movements such as the movement of a piston or diaphragm. Moreover, these transfers of energy occur using a mechanism that does no mechanical work except directly on the material. As a result, few mechanical losses exist in this device.

Having no moving parts in this device has several advantages aside from those concerning energy efficiency. One of the advantages is that virtually no maintenance is ever required as a result of parts which wear out due to mechanical wear. No lubrication is ever required to mitigate wear. Replacement parts are not required for parts that rub, collide, tear, or decay due to any other mechanical movement. No special housing or structures are required to make sure that moving parts do not cause damage to one another. Finally, the material transferred by our pump cannot be contaminated by lubricants required for the use of the pump.

Recently, some inventors have begun building new pump technologies which do not use moving parts in its design. These pumps have the advantage of having little or no wear on parts. As a result, they have extremely high durability. Moreover, pumps that take advantage of various physical properties such as capillary action, energy flow, electromagnetic properties of water, etc. can be designed to have advantageous characteristics such as a small amount of physical wear, reduced energy requirements, or cheap construction.

An example of a pump which uses capillary action is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,864. This pump utilizes both capillary action and liquid vaporization to move liquid, transforming the liquid into a vapor phase. The resulting vapor is then released from the pump, causing the capillary action to draw more liquid into the pump.

The obvious drawback to this design is that the evaporation of the liquid at the end of the capillary tubes deposits dissolved salts at the ends of the tubes, eventually plugging the tubes. As a result, the pump must be used with liquids that do not contain dissolved salts, and this greatly reduces the uses of the pump. The pump also utilizes a relatively slow pumping process which limits the volume it may move. Finally, the distance that this pump may operate over is extremely limited.

Another example of a pump which uses physical characteristics to assist in the design of the pump or reduce energy is given in U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,001. This invention moves water by moving ions in the water using electrostatic attraction of these ions. When the ions move, they draw water with them, moving the water from one charged plate to the other. This mechanism utilizes both the natural viscosity of water and the fact that the water being utilized is typically filled with charged ions. The drawback with this pump is that it requires external energy in the form of electricity for the charged plates to function. Moreover, the liquid must contain ions, and therefore cannot be deionized water, or any other uncontaminated molecular liquid. These limitations make it difficult to use with a large number of different liquids. Finally, it is unclear how much energy is required to move the liquid over long distances.

Solar still technology, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,447, utilizes solar energy to cause evaporation to occur with condensation providing the pure liquid at the other end of the machine. This desalination technology utilizes a method of moving the vapor forcibly from the evaporator to the condenser. It is not more complex than the current device, but adds a power draining requirement to the device, effectively reducing the benefit of using solar energy.

This device also uses a conduit to carry water vapor from one point of the device to another. However, it is not actively heated, as in the current invention. Without this heating, the vapor condenses on the conduit along the way, refluxing back into the device. This limits both the flow rate of the device and precipitates the need for a forcible method of moving the vapor.

Solar desalination technology tends to be centered around the generation of heat or electrical power, rather than the generation of motive force. Many patents concern themselves with heating salty liquid and then pooling steam generated by the salty liquid. Examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,804,962 and 6,797,124. However, both of these examples, and others in the U.S. patent record are more complex than the current technology, do not as easily pump energy as the current invention, do not pump other volatile compounds such as naphthalene or superheated sodium (at high temperatures), and cannot pump over long distances.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,954 describes a solar water pump capable of pumping water from a lower tank to a higher elevation. This pump uses solar energy to vaporize water, communicate it through a pressure chamber to the condenser, and force it into a container at a higher level. It does this by using solar energy to create a high pressure, which is the main motive force for the movement of water.

The current invention neither requires higher pressure nor a pressure chamber. The current invention may work at high or low pressures. In addition, the pressure required to pump over very long distances or to high levels in the pump described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,511,954 can be very large and prohibitive due to gravitational forces or natural viscosity. No such restrictions exist in the current design for long transverse distances and overcoming gravitational forces can be achieved using the current device. The internal conditions of the current pump naturally equilibrate at pressures and temperatures which allow the vapor to be transported over the desired distance, with no external control devices, circuitry, or software required.

A variety of different distillation technologies exist, including several that are not based on solar energy. Various conformations exist, some of which allow the movement of vapor vertically, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,734. This is typically achieved by movement of the vapor along a pathway that is oriented vertically, or using condensers that may be long and have a slight declination over a long distance.

One of the phenomena that occurs in distillation apparatuses is that of reflux. This phenomenon is the condensation of the vapor in a distiller along the pathway leading from the evaporator to the condenser. This limits the amount of liquid that can be received at the final destination. Typically, the reflux is characterized by a characteristic distance λ, which indicates the distance required for the reflux to reduce the amount of vapor by a factor of 1/e. If the vapor path has a distance of nλ, the amount of vapor decreases by a factor of 1/e^(n).

Some devices, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,805, describe methods of reducing the effect of this characteristic distance, but this does not fully mitigate the effect. As a result, as with other distillation devices, the distance that the vapor can be transported is limited.

In the case that some of the components of the volatile material or the material itself sublimes, the material does not reflux, but rather crystallizes along the entire path length of the distiller. Such crystallization not only limits the amount of material that can be transported, but eventually completely blocks the pathway from the heater to the condenser, stopping all transport.

A number of patents exist for heated conduits. These devices utilize electric heaters within the conduit or external pumped fluids to heat the interior liquid. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,729,481 and 5,791,377 disclose conduits which use heating elements to transfer energy to the fluid within the conduits. However, both patents disclose uses with internal liquid fluids and have no provisions for entirely heating the interior of the conduit. As a result, such a conduit cannot be used for reflux-free operation. Moreover, by themselves, these devices cannot transport material and energy—additional pieces must be attached to these devices to affect this function.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a device which transports both energy and volatile substances from one region to another without the need for any moving parts or specialized, exotic, or expensive materials. The energy being transported from point to point is carried using a molecular carrier, which is a substance that absorbs thermal energy while transforming to a vapor state from a solid or liquid state. This energy is directed through a heated conduit to a location which may be remote from the generation point. It is recaptured at the final location through another phase transition, this time from the vapor state to the original solid or liquid state.

There are many advantages to the use of this device over other devices, depending on the particular use that it is being put to. Two main functions exist for this device, as well as several other derivative functions. These main functions are the transfer of energy and the transfer of materials from one point to another.

Accordingly, transferring energy according to this methodology from one point to another has several benefits. First, molecular carriers moving energy from one point to another through an insulated tube transfer little or no energy to the outside world in any form, including electromagnetic waves, thermal pollution, or noise. Depending on the carrier chosen, such a transfer mechanism can remain safe in the event of a breach caused by an act of Man or Nature; the release of such a molecular carrier into the atmosphere can have little or no environmental impact. Finally, the transfer inefficiencies, which can be the limiting factors, can be extremely small even over great distances.

As the molecular carrier is transported via diffusion through a heated conduit, no thermal energy transfer to the conduit from the molecular carrier vapor is possible; the vapor passes through the conduit without condensing or refluxing. As a result, the characteristic distance k is essentially infinite, making the transport of the vapor over long distances, both vertically and horizontally, possible. As a result, the method can be used to transport liquids and solids vertically within skyscrapers, over mountainous regions, and over very long horizontal distances. The transport can happen at very high speeds due to the speed of diffusion of the vapor state, and can therefore allow for rapid delivery as compared to the same in a liquid state.

Derivative advantages include the ability to accumulate solar energy, transforming it to gravitational potential energy, at an extremely high energy efficiency. Once this energy is transformed to gravitational potential energy, it is possible to transform it to electrical energy. Such a system could be a closed loop system in which the molecular carrier returns to the first energy transfer region after using a turbine or other technology to transform gravitational energy to electrical energy. Finally, this energy could be transferred to a remote area without the need for conveying wires and associated electromagnetic signals. Simple tubes, aqueducts, pipes, etc. might be used for such a conveyance.

The second major advantage is the transfer of materials through the same method without the requirement of having moving parts or specialized materials. This advantage makes the device simple and cheap to make, extremely durable over a long period of time, and capable of functioning in nearly any environment. The capital investment and subsequent maintenance are extremely low in comparison to mechanical pumps which require relatively frequent service and part replacement. Depending on the combination of pumped material and pump material, the device might last for upwards of one hundred years without repair.

Since the current invention's functionality does not require specific materials, it may be built different ways, so that makes it is useful in a variety of different applications. By varying the materials with which the current invention is fabricated, the application can be varied widely, with applications to transport of energy, and materials which are both liquids and solids at standard temperature and pressure. The great generality of forms makes it useful in a huge variety of different areas, with different substances, of interest to consumers, companies, and governments. Most importantly, that it can be built with any of these materials, makes it useful to people in many different walks of life around the world.

The next advantage of the current invention derives from the method of transport of materials. As the materials being transported must be volatile at the set of thermal and barometric conditions selected, selective transport of materials results. This means that mixtures of different volatile materials may be separated from one another in the same way that they are during chemical distillation. Moreover, non-volatile materials, such as dissolved salts may be retained at the vaporizer, resulting in the delivery, at the condenser, of a volatile material free of these contaminants. The obvious uses include desalination of water and purification of volatile materials.

One final advantage of the current invention, which is not mentioned by any patent for the movement of energy, fluids, solids, for a method of desalination or purification, is that the machine automatically equilibrates to an internal condition which allows the energy output of the device and the pumping speed of the device to match that of the rate of energy input. This means that the conditions within the pump change in such a way that the output energy matches the input energy. Depending on the detailed geometry of the energy condenser, this means that the temperature of the portion of the condenser in contact with the external region can be extremely elevated. In the case of energy input from a light source, the temperature of the condenser and the interior of the pump can be unboundedly high. As such, the current invention can also be used as an accumulator of energy used to supply unboundedly elevated temperatures to a specific location or locations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:

FIG. 1 is a simplified version of the pump;

FIG. 2 is a version of the pump with attached pumping and receiving reservoirs;

FIG. 3 is a version of the pump in which heating of the energy conduit is achieved with reflected sunlight;

FIG. 4 is a version of the pump with an in-line generator installed;

FIG. 5 is a version of the pump with an in-line generator and a connecting tube which returns condensed materials from the condenser to the vaporizer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 1-5 for purposes of illustration, the present invention directed to the movement and utilization of energy and material, with the energy being carried by molecular carriers comprising the material being moved.

The simplified embodiment comprises three principle components:

-   (1) A vaporizer (11) -   (2) An energy conduit (12) -   (3) A condenser (6)     along with conduits allowing a sealed pathway from the vaporizer to     the condenser.

The vaporizer is, generally, a cavity that may contain a volatile substance along with a method of heating the substance (13), which may be any number of things including, but not limited to a combustion-heated pad or an electric heater. The vaporizer has an exit (9) through which vapor can pass, which is enclosed by a conduit (8) which connects the vaporizer to the energy conduit, allowing vapor to enter the energy conduit through an opening (7).

The energy conduit (12) is a conduit (2) surrounded by an insulating method (1) which may be an insulating material or an insulating vacuum. The conduit has one or more heaters (10) in contact with it. These heaters are capable of heating the conduit to a temperature beyond the vaporization temperature of the volatile material. They may be electric heaters, chemical combustion heaters, heat exchangers transferring heat generated remotely, or any other method. The vapor passes through this energy conduit, exiting through an opening (3) and passing through a conduit (4) on its way to the condenser.

The condenser (6) is a cavity which allows the vapor to cool and transform from a vapor to a liquid or solid state. The condenser may have a heat sink (14) built into it to allow heat to efficiently leave the device. Vapor enters through an opening (5) and is condensed at this point. The condensation of the vapor generates a low pressure, aiding the movement of vapor still in the energy conduit and in the production of more vapor in the vaporizer.

In another embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, two reservoirs (18) and (22) are attached to the vaporizer and the condenser, respectively. These reservoirs are connected to the vaporizer and the condenser via conduits (20) and (16), respectively.

A third embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 has solar reflectors (27) providing heating of the energy conduit.

A fourth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 has an in-line generator (23) inserted between the energy conduit and the condenser. This allows fast-moving vapor to be used to generate electricity.

A fifth embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 has an in-line generator (23) inserted between the energy conduit and the condenser. This allows fast-moving vapor to be used to generate electricity. Moreover, this embodiment has a fluid return conduit (25) connecting the condenser and the vaporizer which allows collected fluid to return to the vaporizer once it has been condensed in the condenser. 

1. A pump capable of moving energy and volatile materials, comprising: a first part which has a cavity which may contain a supply of a volatile material, is capable of transferring thermal energy into said volatile material, and can cause the transformation of said volatile material from a solid or liquid state to a vapor state; a second part which is a conduit wherein the the entire inner surface area of said conduit is heated to a temperature greater than or equal to the vaporization temperature of said volatile material; a third part which has a cavity and a mechanism for absorbing thermal energy from said volatile material in the vapor state, causing a transformation of said material from a vapor state to a liquid or solid state; wherein all three parts are arranged so as to provide an enclosed and continuous vapor flow pathway from said first part through said second part to said third part.
 2. The pump of claim 1, wherein said first part is supplied by a first reservoir filled with said volatile material using a means of transferring said volatile material from said reservoir to said first part.
 3. The pump of claim 1, wherein said volatile material in the liquid or solid state in third part is transferred by some means into a second reservoir.
 4. The pump of claim 1, wherein said first part is surrounded by an insulating material and/or an apparatus capable of maintaining an insulating vacuum around said first part.
 5. The pump of claim 1, wherein said second part is surrounded by an insulating material and/or an apparatus capable of maintaining an insulating vacuum around said second part.
 6. The pump of claim 1, wherein two or more parts are integrated into a single physical apparatus.
 7. The pump of claim 1, wherein the parts are connected using tubing, pipes, or any other type of conduit.
 8. The pump of claim 1, wherein said second part contains a turbine which converts motion of said vapor state of said volatile material into electrical energy.
 9. The pump of claim 1, wherein said third part contains an apparatus capable of converting thermal energy into electrical energy.
 10. The pump of claim 8, wherein said generated electrical energy is used to vaporize additional quantities of said volatile material in said first part.
 11. The pump of claim 9, wherein said generated electrical energy is used to vaporize additional quantities of said volatile material in said first part.
 12. The pump of claim 1 wherein said volatile material, after having transformed from a vapor state to a liquid or solid state in said third part, is returned by some conduit and/or apparatus to said first part.
 13. The pump of claim 2 wherein said volatile material, after having transformed from a vapor state to a liquid or solid state in said third part, is returned by some conduit and/or apparatus to said first reservoir.
 14. The pump of claim 1 wherein the pump is sealed by some means so that the internal pressure is independent of the pressure outside of the pump.
 15. The pump of claim 14 wherein the interior pressure is elevated as compared to the external environment.
 16. The pump of claim 14 wherein the interior pressure is reduced as compared to the external environment.
 17. The pump of claim 1 wherein part one, part two, or part three are constructed from glass, metal, stone, wood, plastic, cloth, and/or any other material naturally or synthetically occurring or a combination of any of these materials.
 18. The pump of claim 1 wherein the thermal energy is provided by one or more electric heating devices, one or more chemical heating devices, one or more electromagnetic heating devices, nuclear decay mechanism, nuclear fusion mechanism, electromagnetic radiation or any other device or method.
 19. The pump of claim 1 wherein a device containing a cavity is connected to said first part by some conduit and/or apparatus and allows said volatile material in said first part to drain under the force of gravity into said cavity in said drainage device.
 20. The pump of claim 1 wherein the evaporative surface area of said second part is increased by the use of any porous material including cloth, wood, polymer membrane, rock, or any other organic or inorganic material. 